Mitchell Schwartz, former second-round pick of the Browns, announces retirement

 

Updated: Jul. 15, 2022, 6:16 p.m. | Published: Jul. 15, 2022, 3:12 p.m.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz (71) drops back to pass against the San Francisco 49ers.AP

By Scott Patsko, cleveland.com

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Mitchell Schwartz, a 2012 second-round draft pick of the Browns and a four-year mainstay at right tackle for the team, announced his retirement on Thursday. Schwartz noted that he has dealt with a back injury for two years.

 

Schwartz started every game at right tackle for the Browns from 2012-15, but is often remembered by Browns fans for the way his time in Cleveland ended.

 

As free agency approached in 2016, the Browns made a contract offer to Schwartz, but the right tackle decided to test free agency. When Schwartz didn’t see offers he liked in free agency, he returned to the Browns, but the original offer no longer stood, according to a source at the time.

 

Schwartz ended up signing with the Chiefs, where he played for five seasons, was named a first-team All-Pro in 2018 and won a Super Bowl.

 

In his retirement message posted in social media, Schwartz noted his beginnings in Cleveland.

 

He thanked the Browns and former GM Tom Heckert “for drafting me and giving me my start. George Warhop, my first OL Coach, for believing in me and developing me through the early bumps and struggles, and for teaching me the vertical set (and the 3 step short set) that became my trademark pass set and allowed me to thrive,” Schwartz wrote.

 

Schwartz, who didn’t miss a game until the 2020 season, was a three-time second-team All-Pro.